Hugo Lloris: Tottenham Hotspur 'must add experience' to young squad to become great team

Lloris says Spurs are in desperate need of experience if they are to reach their goals.Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur must sign experienced players to supplement their young squad, according to goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Mauricio Pochettino's side find themselves in the midst of the Premier League title race having lost just twice and conceded the fewest goals in the top flight, but Lloris feels there is one key weakness within the squad.

Central to Spurs' success this term has been the implementation of several young players, either directly from the club's academy or acquired in the transfer market. The likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli have been among the stand-out performers that help the club feature in a race to win their first league title since 1961.

But should Tottenham wish to go all the way and dramatically claim the Premier League crown from under the noses of rivals Arsenal and Manchester City, then Lloris says they need some experienced heads to guide them through the second half of the campaign. The comments follow the 29-year-old's previous views that his side do not have the "maturity" to win.

"We are in this place today [because of Pochettino and his staff]," he told Talksport. "[Pochettino] has a lot of responsibility. He tried to put us in the best condition and to bring us to the next step and for that we work hard every day, try to develop our skills and improve individually and collectively. We feel we are a good team, a strong team, but it is not enough, we want to become a great team and for that we need to add some experience because we are still young."

Speaking earlier in January, Lloris told the Evening Standard: "We don't have the maturity of some teams, like [Manchester] City or Arsenal. You need experience." Pochettino has been coy over his intentions in the January transfer window, but is believed to be open to improving his Tottenham squad should the opportunity arise, amid continued talks with chairman Daniel Levy.

"Maybe every day we have some chat, five minutes, 10 minutes," the Tottenham boss said of his discussions with Levy over transfers, according to The Times. "We have a very good relationship with all the departments of the club and we know we are ready to take the better decision for the team and the future of the club but that doesn't mean we need to bring players in.

"Today I am very happy with the squad we have. We have a strong squad and the place we are after 19 games means we are in a very good way and our decisions were good. Only if we can help the team and improve the team maybe we take some decisions but for that it has to be right and to be sure that if we need some players to bring in they have to be the right profile."